As the holidays are upon us, many decide to take a little break from their nutrition plans and indulge in some holiday treats. The holidays can be quite stressful and there are often tempting amounts of cookies, candies, and other treats around at this time of year. One of the biggest nutritional enemies on the market today is trans fat. Trans fatty acid content is gradually being reduced and eliminated in foods due to widespread health concerns and newer labeling requirements, but they are still found in the majority of baked products, such as cookies and crackers. When buying crackers for the holidays be sure to get only those made from whole grain with no trans fat.
Packaged cookies are anathema to a healthy body, because they not only contain trans fat and saturated fat, but vast quantities of sugar and white flour (which turns immediately to sugar in the body) and little to no fiber. Alas, some think cookies are a sacred part of their holiday and they must have them.
So, in the spirit of the holidays and that of moderation here is my advice for cookies. Don't eat store-bought cookies unless you can find some with a modicum of healthy ingredients (good luck with that… try a natural or whole foods store perhaps). You can control the ingredients in your cookies by making them yourself. Try to stick primarily to cookies with real fruit and nuts in them, as this will add a tiny bit of fiber and vitamin content to them.
When selecting ingredients for cookies, skip the butter in place of SmartBalance (use regular for baking, not SmartBalance Light). Do not use margarine containing any trans fat. SmartBalance is lower in saturated fat than butter, has no trans fat, and is a good source of essential omega-3 fatty acids. If possible use organic cane sugar, date sugar, brown rice syrup, natural maple syrup, or honey as a sweetener. These give a very slight nutritional improvement over white sugar.
White flour is another health enemy in cookies, but substituting whole grain flour may make a major difference in flavor. Graham flour may be a suitable substitute in some cases. If that doesn't work, try adding some whole or ground flax seed, or stick to cookies made from whole oats (oatmeal raisin cookies, for example).
Instead of putting out bowls of candy during holiday parties, try using bowls of nuts and dried fruit instead. If you must have candy, use more natural candies such as candied nuts or those made from real fruit.
Bring your treats to parties and enjoy them with moderation. One hint-- don't tell people how healthy the cookies are until after they compliment them. The term “healthy cookies” is an oxymoron to many people, and the psychological impact of it may ruin the joy of the cookies.
Happy Holidays!
